Beet harvester



Sept. 22, 1931. A. E. sHlNN BEET HARVESTER Filed April 16 1928 3Sheets-Sheet l A. E. sHl'NN BEET HARVESTER Sept. 22, 1931.

Filed April 16, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet` 2 rv w W 1v u m n a a n h 5 m Ez/rk w ma @d n) ..1 n: M QQ J .o M L?) @s @w n@ t. @n

Sept. 22, 193,1. A. E. sHlNN 1,824,376

BEET HARVESTER Filed April 16, 1928 3 Sheets-Shea*l 3 AE 5T-Linn vin "fao Patented Sept. 22, V19131Ev This invention" is af machinekfor'redir-)ving The invention has forjits" object thefpr'oviy sion ofsimple meansfvvhich "Will operate' continuously as the` machine is:Qdrawni along a row of beets to .cut olf* the 'vtopsof beetsat a uniformheight andv automatically 4accomf modate itself to passoverjbeetslofabnormal size. The invention I' also *hasv for its jobj'ectthe provision of :simple Vmeans Which-fare actuated by' the groundWheels" ,of the' inachine to lift the beetsv fronifthelgroundjand Figure1 is a plan vievvjofiabeefharvester embodying theinvention; *I

Fig. 2 is a side elevationof th I With Fig. 7 is a detail'section yonthefline 7-'- of Fig; 2, and

Figi 8 is a of Fig., 2. f w i.

The main frame ofthe machine comprises sillsV or side bars 1Whiehareseeur'ed atth'eir vjecting steering "a'rIri'sf'or'fspindles4transfer them to drum' infvvhichjtheyiwill be'relieved of dirt clingingto them fand then 4deposited y upon a conveyory :which -thi-gy aretransferred to .a vehicle travelingalongside the machine.`Theinventionfis illus-V ainegm Y f F ig. 3 is an enlarged trariversesectionfon aan? pian @view offene @per 2 and the partsimmediately'associated tleifel Fig. 6 is .a detail of a portion ofthedruin; Y* Y Y l y "7 extremities of the runnersso that it Will 'cutthrough the'topsofqthe beets immediately iad'jaentthe Isame and,there-fore", thebeets will be 'cut at' a uniform distance below thevcrovvn's" so that'all-*oftheftops Will be re- 1moved.Jv lRadialfribs or`Wings "170, Von the`V` front ends upon anarch 2 Which" carriesfijheifront Wheels 3, said Wheelsf beingmounted upon stud axles "pivoted'`upon A"tli'efsizes of the archgand ihaving'Yfo'rWiarplly"Ijifbconnectedvby '.alink One: spindle isffextended vertically tov proj edtabove-theyarch and at its upper'fendg'is prv-idedjwithan."

tached the front endof-asf erig'fzrod'fvvhich extends rearwardly to beaita'ched to alf foot i a *Appiiationgiugipeppii16,:'192sseria1 NQ.270,410. c f t ,n -fest'ssad OOtr'eStbeIgPYOtally mlmed the tops ofbeets,lifting` the beets,from the I ground and Vsubseclue'ntly`tr.ansfer-ring them t0 fr Wagon driven E21.10.11'aside1151.1@lrrmslliwn standard `10 is secured to saidcrossbarland midway its endsfupon' laj cross bar l9 which 1s; secured to andextends between the crossbars 'l5 as lclearly shown in Fig.' yA seatV carries'faseat.y 11" for`the driverwho vmay place his'feet upon jthe foot rest` 8 and 'by:pressingeitherv end of the vsame forwardly f'vvillturn the Wheels 3 toone side so as to l-steer the machine in"anfob'yious manner."

The machine may be drawn 7along a row ofl'nets 'byja'tra'ctor orby draftyanimals as Y maybe vmost 'convenient'underuany given circumstances. n lj* l g Secured to" and *depending from the' side bars,l lfnear but inf,rear of Vthe frontfends thereof: aref brackets 12 fand carried by'fthelowerV ends 'offthese brackets is`v` a pivot rod -13"upoirWhicharehungrunnersjl, spacers v '51.14 beingj fitted on theV pivot' betweentheijru'nners; as be understood.- The lower ',ledsjof these .runners restupon .the surface off-,the "groundandfare adapted to ride overy 'thtopsf thev beets' softhat the lrunners Will be j'automatically' raisedV:andv lovvered' accord-i" "Ltothegv siies ofthe (beets. A bearing fbracket 154 is 4carriedY ythe upper` rear corvners of the tru`nn`e`rs,'and 'in VthisV bracket jis f Vjournaleda .shaft l16,*to the' lowerendof,

whichfis V*secured a cutting disk v17,` it being noted" that thef shaftis` disposed obliquely fandthefeutte'r has its mos'tfadvanced pointyAdisposed'imirie'di'ately 'under the lower rear 'upperf side offtheftopping disk serve to thrustV aside thegcut tops so' thatthey `willnotclog 'the actioniof: any parts; Above the bearing fbracliet'l'ibeveled pinion 18 is secured 'upon the4 shaft 16,' and l this pinionmeshes I' with-a gear incanta byfthe inner @ne 'Off a shaft 20"Wliich,is disposedtransverselyand journaledS ina lateral ``arrrr1`15 ofthekbracket i175.)l the outer end [of :the shaft.l is ia sprocket21"about"which is trained ajsprock ;;-,=40. Vthe. tops thereot .willlitt the beets trom" the driving sprocket 28 secured upon the rear axle24. The axle 24 is mounted in suitable following the contour ot thelowern edges ot. the. runners Aand having their lower ,treel ends f fdisposed under the topping disk,

bearings upon the side barsl and carries the Vrear ground wheels whichconstitute the driving wheels. It will now be seen that as the machineis drawn torward the driving sprocket 23 will be rotated, and thisrotation will be transmitted to the sprocket21 and thence through theshatt 20 and the described gearing to rotate the cutting disk 1'?. Y

Fastened at their trontends tothe .outer sides ot the runners are guards117, the purpose ot which `is to prevent the topping disk digging intothe ground asit passes trom aV beet. kThese guards are leat springsclosely to each guard near the'tree end thereof is hanger rod -118Vvwhich extends .upwardly through a guide 119 on the side ot thewrunnersand has its .upper extremity threaded, a set. 1 nut 120 beingtitted ontheV threaded end otv zthe rodI above the guide whereby thespring guardymay be adjusted in an obviousmalller as may be' desired.

brackets 12 are plow` beams 26 which ex-VA tend rearwardly beyondthegears 1,8V and 19 3o Pivotally mounted upon and between the and haveplowV standards`27 secured'thereto vneartheir rear ends, plows orbeet-lifting shares 2S being carried by the lower ends ot the standardsto traveljat Vopposite sides ot the row ot beets Aand below the groundsurface, .Thefopposed edges ot thesef'shares GOllverge rearwardly andthe shares taperY forwardly .to points so thatthey Awill,read- Yilr.nass through the ereuedand bvensas -`ingropposite sides ot'thebeetybQdBS, below ground. Mounted upon themain trame,

(above the beet litters, are rock shatts29, and

toeaoh ot these shatts are secured normally 1torwardlyprojecting cranks30, the rear cranks being connected by links 31 'Withfthe rear endsottherespectivel plow beams 26V Qwhile theV torward crankslare connected bylinks. 32 with the rear endsot the runners 14and the bearingbracketfcarriedby saidV TA,5u

. vthrough aneye at the Vtront end ot the corunners, Each linkf passesupwardly operating crank and is equipped abovethe same with Va stopcollar or nut 34 whereby it is prevented trom dropping throughthe eyewhile a spring 35, coiled around the link with its upper end bearingagainsttheV [eyey 38' and its lower .end vattachedto the link, yieldablyholds the runners and thefcut# ter depressed while .permitting them a,lim- Y ited vertical movement in the event that they 5:6? Y Y encounteran abnormally high beet. VCranks 36 rise trom the rock shatts 29andareoonvnected by a rod-37, the rear end ot which is pivoted t0, a handlever 38 mounted upon. the

Pivoted l'trom the rear ends ot the beams 26 and have journaled in theirlower ends a shaft 42 carrying a roller or drum and sprocket wheels,

indicated at 43, about Which is trained an endless chain 44 whichconstitutes the driving element ot an elevator apron 45 extendingupwardly .and rearwardly to a point above l:the rear axle 24 andrearwardly beyond the same. 'The upper rear bight ot this elevator bislcarried by a drum or sprockets 46 supr ported by arms or brackets 47iitted about the axle 24 and extending upwardly and Vrearwardlytherefrom, as shown. Upon the axle ot the drum or sprockets 46 ismounted a spur gear or pinion 48 which meshes with a similar pinion 49yVcarried by a transverse ella-.ft 5.0 whiehis equipped with a sprocketpinion 51 on one end, a chain 52 being trained around said sprocketpinion and around a sprocket gear 53 which is secured upon the axle24,513.57 this mechanism, the elevator 45 is also driven directly by therear axle.

Itis alsoto be noted .that the tront end ot ythe elevatoris adjustedverticallyrwith the beet litters so` that it will always be in the samelrelation to the litters andV when the litters and topping disk areraised trom the ground, inV turning'the machine, the .elevator.wll.-l.lsogbe-rai$d., y

At the inner sidentV the sprocket 53, a

beveledgear 5,4 is secured upon the axle to' IIIQSllWith 2f beveledinion 55 secured upon the tront end ot a sha 't 56 which is journaled insuitable bearings .depending trom the main trame and extends beyond therear end ot the trame. Supported by the rear end ot the .main ltraine isa-drum 5.7, each end ot which is an annulus 58 having its outerperipheral edgearranged to ride upon rollers 59 mounted upon .the sidesot the trame and having flanges 60 to engage the opposed edges ot thetracks k58, and thereby support' the .drum tor rotation and preventendwise movement thereof. A tthe torward end ot the drum,

there isseoured thereto a ring gear 61 meshingwith. al spur 4pinion 62secured upon the shatt 5.6 so that, the rotation ot said shatt will beimpartedldirectly tothe drum and the drum will be rotated to agitate thebeets deliveredinto the same and shake therefrom all sand or, .otherearthy matter which may beV Clingngthereto.v It will be understood thatthe upper bight `ot the conveyeyr 45 is so disposed .that thejbeetbodies carried upwardly the-elevator will bev delivered intothe .drumsTleeetral epeneethreash the fOrward annulus is of less diameter than theopening through the rear annulus so that, while the beet bodies mayreadily enter the drum through vits front end, they can escapey onlythrough the rear end. The circumferential wall of the drum consists ofspaced rods 150 parallel with the axis of the drum and having their endssecured in the annuli 58, any preferred means, suoli as shoulders on therods or spacer sleeves fittedupon the rods, being provided to maintainthe spaced relation ofthe annuli. The beet bodies will, of course, tendto accumulate atthe lowest point of the drum but, asthe drum rotatescontinuously, they Willbe-constantly tumbled about and tend to ridevupwith the moving side of the drum, the tumbling of the beets causing thesand and loose dirt thereon to drop therefrom and pass Vout through thespaces between the rods. As the beets reach high points of the drum,they will fall out through the rear end thereof. At the rear of the drumis an endless belt conveyer 63 which is supported by the side bars ofthe main frame and has the drum or r'oiler supporting its inner bightVsecured upon the shaft 5G and driven directly by the same. This conveyer63 may pass to anydesired extent laterally beyond the side of the beetharvester so that the beet bodies deposited upon the conveyer will betransferred to a wagonrtraveling alongside the harvester. It will beunderstood, ofcourse, that the conveyer is arranged closeto the rear endof the drum so that the beet bodies which issue from the drum will becaught bythe l conveyer.

The rear wheels 25 are loose upon thefax'ie 24e while the inner ends oftheir hubs are formed into ratchet ,clutch members 125 mat-L ing withclutch members 126 slidably fitted on the axle but constrained to rotatetherewith and yieldably held to the members 125 by expansion springs12'(- coiledaround the axle between the axle bearings and the clutchmembers. 'Ihe inner clutch members arie formed with annular grooves inwhich are engaged forks 128 having inwardly extending arms 129, the endsof which are pivoted to angle levers 130 fulcrumed on brackets 131 onthe main frame in front of the axle.

vcommodate the different speeds of the wheels 25 in passing curves.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided anexceedingly compact machine which will have comparatively light draftand by which, as l the machineis drawn along a row of beets, the beettops will be cut away and the beets lifted from the groundy and passedrearwardly to be eventually delivered into a traveling receptacle. i e

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A beet harvester comprising a traveling frame, means carried by theframe'for top- Y Y ping and lifting the beets, an elevator hav- A ingits front portion disposed immediately at therear of the topping andlifting means to receive beet bodies therefrom, a drum rotatably mountedupon the frame at the rear end thereof with its axis extendinglongitudinally of the frame and lconsisting of two annuli and spacedrods connecting the same, the inner diameter of the front annulus beingless than the inner diameter of the rear an- Y nulus, the upper rearportion'of theelevator being arranged adjacent the drum to deliver thebeet bodies directly into the same, a rear v through the front endthereof, means' whereby the rear wheels supporting the frame willactuate the elevator and the topping and lifting means, a shaft Vdrivenby said wheels and extending under and beyond the drum, a] pinion onsaid shaft meshing with the ring gear on the drum, and a conveyer at therear of the drum driven by said shaft.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

` ALBERT E. SI-IINN. [1.. s]

Journaled upon the frame in advance of the brackets 131 is a transverserock shaft' 132 having cranks 133 at its ends with'wliich the Y Y anglelevers 130 are connected by links 134. A

connecting rod 135 extends forward from one l Vcrank 133 to acrank 136on the outer endV of Vthe pivot to which the hand lever 38 is secured,the clutches being thusconnected so that when the topper and lifters areraised Y the machine will be thrown out of gear. If,

i however, the machine is to continue in operation. although deviatingfrom a straight path, the ratchet clutches will automatically ac-

